She takes my breath away; she is so beautifully damaged. Yes, I had broken her, ravished her life and destroyed her happiness. I brought her to the ultimate despair.
I was responsible for all the pain and suffering that now brought her to her knees in front of me.
Broken.
Hopeless.
Reckless in her agony.
She is a mirror of my own tortured soul.
But what I took away I can give back, in … soul.
But what I took away I can give back, in ways she cannot even begin to imagine .
She is everything right in all my wrongs.
She loves me. She needs me.
She has no idea I’m the one who wrecked her life.
** Vandal is a dark romance with light BDSM. He is emotionally damaged and manipulative, but still wants love. This book deals with death, grief, deception, substance abuse, depression, and graphic sex. If this is not your thing, you can skip this book and move onto the next in the series and you will not be lost. Vandal is not the sweetheart that the other guys in Ashes & Embers are – but even the dark and damaged deserve to be loved, right? **
more
4.5 stars
Vandal is book 2 in the Ashes & Embers series and honestly I had no idea what to expect from this book. Vandal hasn’t had a great life so he numbs the pain with drugs and alcohol until he finally finds a reason to get clean. Unfortunately a horrific accident takes away the most important light in his life and yet again he spirals out of control. Tabitha has had a great life, a man who loves her, friends, and lots of happiness which is taken from her in a moments time. As she spirals out of control her paths cross with Vandal. Let me start by saying that these two are a mess. When they first get together I had trouble imagining how they could make it work, but as the story progressed I feel in love with them together. I was very happy with the separation I thought they both needed it in order to have a real future. This story does have light BDSM but don’t let that change your mind because I don’t read that genre either and it actually worked with the story. Now my only complaint was the Epilogue, I didn’t like the secret Tabitha still holds on to. It was unfair of her especially since secrets is why she left Vandal to begin with. I hope at some point she shares her secret with Vandal. I can’t wait to read Lucas.
I absolutely fell in love with this book from the devastating but twisted way it started. Vandal’s attitude and dominance just sent chills down my spine. I am always drawn to stories with a damaged bad boy, the anti hero. There’s something about redemption and karma that just makes a great story.
Told from a dual POV; the story was like a coiled python, we all knew the secret from the beginning we were just waiting for it all to implode and the secrets to be unleashed. Vandal was beautiful but damaged, craving love but also scared of it from the neglectful childhood he had. He has found many ways to cope, such as self harm, drugs and alcohol. Tabitha was trusting, more than I would be but then she is also in a dark place from recent events, also wishing to forget. Together they are a couple who are trying to deal with grief, the loss of a loved one. Until the Tabi’s life was perfect, marrying a childhood sweetheart and living life in happiness until she wasn’t!
Great emotive writing but heed the authors warning concerning triggers, it certainly does provoke a hybrid of emotions!
Please consider the authors warnings before reading this book. She’s right; Vandal is darker. He’s led a screwed up life until recently and has a particular sexual appetite. He’s encountered a ton of pain over the course of his life and he gets hit with the most painful of it in the beginning of this book. I enjoyed his story and felt as if I could relate to him at times which had me capable of understanding the reasons behind his behavior. I was floored with the ending; I didn’t see what happened coming. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Tabitha throughout the story however with the way things ended, I feel like I can make better sense of her and who she is. Great book!
Vandal is not like her other books. He has a dark past. He is a dominant and a cutter. He perceives himself as hard to love, so he doesn’t make much of an attempt. That is until due to a tragic event he meets Tabi.
Ok…before I actually read vandal..I’d read torn and storm ( and loved them both )
I’d read the blurb and seen a few of the reviews and had a general idea of what the book was about.
I saw a lot of positive and a lot of negative reviews but I knew I had to read it and make my own decision as I’m not the kind of person who skips a book…whatever the topic….triggers or not.
So here goes…my honest opinion in sepia and black.
Emotional, raw, a story about two people who poked and prodded at newly formed wounds not knowing what the potential outcome would be….harmful or healing.
In short real..real as human life…filled with emotions and pain and anger and love and hate…..as real as a made up story can be…
I loved this book. I’m glad the reviews didn’t prevent me from reading it because as much as there are dark elements to it…there are light elements too and one thing life has taught me, you gotta have dark to enjoy the light.
As always… start at the beginning.